Elevator guide



Oct. 13, 1936. s. B. SANFORD ELEVATOR GUIDE 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Dec. 5, 1951 R o Al Gv :MW la m. FIS G r1., d u u :lw @n l ms w FII |;.V| [n VL E b w w uw I lu. m U :WU i| -l ATTORN EY Patented Oct. 13, 1936 UNITED ,STATES PATENT oFFlcs i 2,057,118 ELEVATOR .GUIDE Application December 5, 1931, iSerial No. 579,153

7 Claims.

This invention relates to guides for the movable bodies of `elevator installations.

In the elevato-r art, it is usual to provide guides o-n the 4elevator car and counterweight for coop- 5 erating with metallic guide rails in the hatchway to guide the car and counterweight in their movement in the hatchway.

It is desirable that the guides be smooth and noiseless in operation. This is not easy of attainment. The application of lubricant to the guide rails reduces the friction rbetween the guides and the guide rails and tends to reduce the noise resulting from the sliding engagement of the guides with the guide rails. The application of lubricant does not entirely eliminate noise, hoW- ever, due to the fact that there are noises involved other than that -resulting from the sliding of the guides over the guide rails. It frequently happens that the guide rails are misaligned, that the rails themselves are not absolutely true, that joints between adjoining rails are not smooth, and that burrs, hammer marks and other high spots are on the rails. As a consequence, the so-lid metallic gibs, Which have been frequently employed as the portion of the guides contacting With the metallic guide rails, give forth a pronounced metallic soundwhen they Contact With such imperfections in the guide rails. In addition, such solid gibs become worn in service, and then rattle and slap back and forth during the movement of the elevator car. These noises are extremely objectionable.

'Ihe object of this invention is to provide guiding mechanisms for the movable bodies of elevator installations Which operate With a minimum of noise, which give the most satisfactory guiding action possible, and which reduce to a minimum the installation and upkeep costs of the guiding equipment.

One feature of the invention is the provision in each guide shoe of an independent gib for cooperation with each guiding surface of the guide rail with which the guide shoe is associated.

A second feature of the invention resides in having each gib of light Weight and in maintaining each gib in yielding engagement with one of the guiding surfaces of the guide rail, as by means of a light spring, independently of the other gibs in the same guide shoe.

A third feature of the invention resides in having the portion of each gib which engages With the guide rail formed of a material having a hardness considerably greater than that of the metallic guide rail. This material is preferably one which has a high resistance to abrasion and which does not lose its hardness under local heating such as thatiresulting from friction.

A fourth feature ofthe invention is the provision of a sound-deadening .backing for each gib so that when -the vgib strikes an imperfectionA in the rail the noise issuing from the gibv .is slight and deadened, and so that Whenthe back of the gib slaps -againstthe kinside Vsurface of the gib housing, there is a minimum of noise.V

A fifth feature of theinvention resides in Vthe construction of the back gib by. Which it may oscillate to a small extent about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the axial plane ,of the cooperating guide rail. Such movement enables the entire contacting surface .of the back gib always to engage the face of the guide rail, regardless of any misalignment in the rails.

Other features and ,advantages Will become apparent from the specification taken in connection with the accompanyingdravvings, wherein several embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

In all of the embodiments of the invention to be described, a pair of T-shaped guide rails, extending throughout the height of the hatchw'ay, are provided for the movable body to'be guided, such as an elevatorcar. Guide shoes, mounted at each end vof the top and bottom members of the car sling, are arranged to cooperate with the guide rails to guide the car in its movement in the hatchway. Each guide shoe comprises a body portion of gib housing in which are mounted three removable gibs that engage with the three Vguiding surfaces of the guide rail, a stem extending from the gib housing, and a stem support cooperating with the stem for providing a means for mounting the gib housing to the elevator car. The stem is a shaftlike extension of the'gib housing extending horizontally from the back of the gib housing inA a direction parallel to the axial plane of the guiding portion of the cooperating guide rail. The stem is rotatably mounted in the stem support so that as a result the Vgib housing is rotatable about a horizontal axis lying in a plane parallel to the axial plane of the cooperating guide rail. A helical compression spring surrounding the stem of the gib housing isrprovided and is arranged to provide a resilient mounting for such housing. This compression spring is a comparatively strong spring. If desired, the compression spring may be initially adjusted to urge the gib housing toward the face of the guiding portion of the cooperating guide rail With a predetermined, regulable force. v

Within the gib housing, and maintained in place by suitable removable caps,V are the three removable gibs-a back gib cooperating with the face of the guide rail, and two side gibs, each cooperating with one of the two side guiding surfaces of the guide rail. These gibs are independent of oneanother, and preferably are each maintained in engagement with the corresponding surface of the guide rail by aleaf spring interposed between the back of each gib and the inside surface of the gib housing. These leaf springs are. comparatively weak, their main purpose Vbeing at all times to maintain the gibs in engagement with the guide rail. In addition, the gibs are comparatively light in weight. Each gib is formed of material having a hardness appreciably greater than that of the guide rail, which material preferably retains its hardness under local heating and yis resistant to abrasion. Also, this hard rail-engaging material of the gib is preferably backed with a sound-deadening material or a material having decidedly different acoustic properties from those ofthe rail-engaging material. This results in damping the vibration characteristic of the railengaging portion of the gibeand thus in reducing the sound issuing from the gib, as when it con- Vtacts with imperfections in the rails. Y It has been found that phenolic compounds, such as phenol canvas and bakelite, are advantageously employed for such purposes. A number of rail-engaging Vmaterials have been successfully employed. For `the construction of the gibs herein described it is 1 been exposed, under appropriate conditions, to

the nitriding action of ammonia gas). The Brinell hardness of such diamite andV nitralloyV runs around 650 to '750 for diamite and around an equivalent of 950 to 1100 for nitralloy-both very kappreciablyY greater than the Brinell hardness of guide rails, which, since they are usually of standard rolled steel,`have a Brinell hardness running around 125 to 150.

BothY diamite Yand nitralloy have the desired ycharacteristics of retaining theirV hardness at all times when in service even though the rail-engaging wearing surface thereof .is raised to a high temperature locally at the points of engagement with'the guide rail due to friction. Further, these materialsV are very resistant to abrasion, `and such Wear as takes place is in the form of fine dust-like powder which leaves the rail-engaging surface smooth and does not score the rail.

When the gibs are composite constructions of a rail-engaging material and a sound-deadening backing such as bakelite or phenol canvas, as herein described, the backing may be moulded to a prepared insert of the rail-engaging material, suitable means being provided by whichthe insert is secured to the backing. Alternatively, the back- Vused,and thereby to reduce the cost and to lessen Y thetweight of the gibs, the backing of each gib herein illustrated'is formed with the rear surface thereof not as one unbroken surface, but as a plu- .rality of small, lateral areas, for convenience termed ribs, between which considerable backing material has been eliminated. This construction also has the advantage of reducing any tendency which the .backing material may have, when moulded, for causing warping of the rail-engaging insert. In all of the embodiments of the invention herein described, the ribs of each gib are formed with a longitudinal channeltherein to accommodate the leaf spring interposed between the gib and the gib housing. For the back gibs, this depth varies, being at the center rib of each back gib a minimum of approximately half the thickness of the leaf spring, and being greater at each succeeding rib from the center rib in each direction therefrom until at the end ribs the depth is the full thickness of the leaf spring. By this construction, even when the leaf spring for the back gib is compressed flat against the inside surface of the gib housing, the back gib is self-aligning, inasmuch as it is capable of a limited oscillatory movement about the 'center rib, so as always to' Y effect the engagement of the entire rail-engaging surface of the back gib with the rail regardless of any misalignment in the rails. Thedepth of the longitudinal channel in the ribs of the side gibs is constant in the embodiments of the invention to be described. 'I'his is due to the fact that, with the mounting for the gib housing, and the arrangement of the side gibs in the gib housing, to be described, the side gibs are self-aligning without recourse to the construction employed to make the back gib self-aligning.

Each gib housing is dimensioned so that the two side gibs mounted therein normally have a small clearance between the backs thereof and Vthe inside surfaces of theV gib housing. The two side gib-s, being maintained in engagement with the side guiding surfaces of the guide rail by their respective leaf springs, thus have a range of movement within the gib housing for accommodating themselves to slight misalignments and imperfections in the rails without transmitting jars to the car frame. The side gibs thus in reality float on the guide rails, and may be termed floating gibs. In the event the misalignment or imperfection in the rail is such as to require greater movement of a side gib than is permitted in the gib housing, so that the backk of the side gib engages the inside surface of the gib housing, the noise resulting from the contact of these two surfaces is a minimum, since the back of the gib is formed of material having a far Yless noise-producing quality than has the rail-engaging material of the gib. The back gib may also be termed a floating gib. Its freedomY of movement independently of the gib housing may, on occasions, however, be limited by the action of the helical compression spring. This may occur when the helical compressionk spring is adjusted linitially to urge the gib housing against the face of the guide rail with a force greater than that restrainable by the relatively Weak leaf spring for the back gib.` Under such conditions, however, the leaf spring for the back gib is still of value, for with its assistance the oscillatory action of the back gib about its center rib is obtained, thereby continuing the self-aligning characteristic of the back gib. In addition, in the event the guide, during thetmovernent of the elevator car, suddenly passes from a high spot to a low spot on the guide rail, the leaf spring for the back gib causes the back gib instantly to follow the rail, while the gib housing, due to its much greater weight than the gib, is still in substantially its original position with respect to the elevator car. When the gib housing does take up the clearance between the back gib and the inside surface of the gib housing, there is very little noise or slapping sound, inasmuch as the metallic surface of the gib housing is contacting with a'comparatively sounddeadening material. It may be appreciated that, when a customary solid metallic gib is secured to the gib housing, the action of the helical compression spring under such circumstances produces a pronounced slap at the time the gib resumes engagement with the guide rail. It is the elimination of just such a noise, among other things, that constitutes one feature of this invention.

It has been found that gibs in accordance with this invention have an exceptionally long effective life, so that in addition to reducing noise, such gibs very materially reduce maintenance expenses chargeable to the guiding equipment. It is believed that this is attributable to the tendency of the rail-engaging material of thegibs to work the entire guiding surfaces of the rails into a brilliant polish. During this polishing action, the burrs and nicks on ther rails are gradually eliminated and the high spots are worn down. As the rails approach this polished state, the friction becomes less, the amount of guide rail lubricant that is required becomes less, the riding action of the car improves, and guide noise is substantially eliminated. In addition, it has been found that the wear on the gibs, even initially a very small amount, becomes still less. The wear on the rails, outside of the high spots Where Wear is desirable, has been found to be negligible, and

after the rails become polished and smooth, the Wear is, as with the gibs, still less than when the rails are being polished. It has also been found that, when gibs in accordance with this invention are employed, and if, through some failure of the lubricating or some other equipment, or through the oversight of the maintenance force, 'the guide rails become dry, neither the guide rails nor the gibs score or scuif up when the car is operated with the rails in such condition. The consequence of operating the car when the guide rails are dry is merely to increase by a small percentage the wear of the gibs and guide rails over their wear when the guide rail normally is lubricated. Such results have been found to be particularly pronounced when the rail-engaging surfaces of the gibs are made either of nitralloy or of diamite. 1

The rail-engaging surface of the rail-engaging material of the gibs may initially, before use, be ground smooth, if not already so, or, alternately, be left in its unfinished or rough state. Satisfactory results have been obtained both with smooth-surface and rough-surface gibs. In certain installations, however,-particularly in new installations and in high-rise, high-car-speed installations where exceptionally good guiding action is highly desirableit has been found advantageous to use gibs having initially rough railengaging surfaces. With such rough-surface gibs in such installations, it has been found that after a given length of time a better, smoother and quieter guide operation results than when smooth-surface gibs are initially employed. This is apparently due to the fact that scale, dirt, high spots, burrs and other imperfections on the guide rails are removed faster, and a thoroughly polished set of guide rails is more quickly obtained, when rough-surface gibs are initially used than when smooth-surface gibs are initially used. In the event it is desired to still further accelerate the advent of a polished set of guide rails, gibs having knurled-like rail-engaging surfaces, similar to one of the types of gibs to be described, may be employed.

1 'I'Iie'IaiI-engagmgsurace of a gib is, viny two of the types of gibs to be described, formed; of

a singlestrip of the hard, rail-engaging material suitably secured to the gib so that the broad side of the strip engages the guide rail. This construction is simple and relatively easy of manufacture'. In the `thirdtype Vof gib to be described, the rail-engaging surface of the gib is formed of the. edges of a plurality of strips of material. This. is obtained by securing together a stack of strips: and mounting the stack so that` the edges of the strips engage the guide rail. This `construction is more difiicult of manufacture, but

possesses merit with certain'xnaterials in that `extended Wear of the gib is permissible before replacement is necessary. Typical of such materials is nitrided steel. Thatportion of. nitrided steel which is exceptionally hard'is the portion thereof which has been penetrated by the ammonia or other'nitriding gas during the nitriding'process. Inasmuch as the depth of penetratic-n is, in the present average commercial product, of the order of cne-thirty-second of an inch,

'this defines the limit of wear generally permis- Vsible with an ordinary flat strip of such material -of `the order, for example, of one-quarter of an inch thick, when the broad, flat surface of such strip engages with the guide rail. On the other hand, when a strip of the order of one-sixteenth of ani inch thick is processed or nitrided, .the nitriding from each side of the strip meets in the center thereof so that the strip for its entire thickness is rendered exceptionally hard. When a number of such strips are stacked face to face, secured, and the edges thereof made the gib surface which engages the guide rail, wearwith such a gib never results ina non-processed area of metal engaging with the guide rail, although the total Wear may greatly exceed one-thirty-second of an inch. Such is the feature peculiar to the third type of gib to be described.

In the event it is desired to manufacture the more simple gib previously referred to, in which :the rail-engaging surface of the gib is a single -stripof material, such as nitrided steel, suitably secured to the gib so that the broad side of the strip engages the guide rail, such strip is advantageously such a thin strip that the nitriding 'process has rendered the strip hard through its en'tirethickness. As a result, they limit of permissible Wear with such a gib is materially larger than with a thicker strip. The effective life of such a gib is thus correspondingly longer. In addition, the reduction of the thickness of the rail-engaging strip of material reduces the total weight of the gib, and so better enables the gib to float on the guide rail.

, In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevator car and the guiding equipment therefor;

FigureV 2 is an enlarged View, in elevation, with parts Vbroken away to show certain details, of an elevator guide shoe and support therefor;

Figure 3 is a, vertical elevation 'of the gibs and gib'housing, showing the gibs as they are positioned in the gib housing;

Figure 4 is a sectional View of the gib and gib housing taken alo-ng the line 4 4 of Figure 2; v Figure 5 is a front elevation of one of the side gibs shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the side gib shown in Figure 5, with a portion broken away toA show certain details thereof ;y

Figure '7 is a plan view of the side gib shown in Figure 5;

l'lio stern support 21.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of theY back gib shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, with a portion broken away to show certain details thereof;

Figure 9 is a front elevation vof the back gib shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a front elevation of a back gib illustrating the manner by which `the surface of a gib may be roughened, if desired;

Figure 11 is an enlarged cross section of a portion of the gib of Figure 10, showing, to an enlarged scale, the rail-engaging surface of the gib of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing a laminated type of gib;

Figure .'13 is a front elevation of one of the laminated side gibs shown in Figure, 12;

Figure 14 is a side elevation of the laminated side gib shown inFigure 13;

Figure 15 is a side elevation of the laminated back gib shown in Figure 12; 'and Figure 16 is aV front elevation of'the laminated 4baclrgib shown in Figure 15.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is shown an elevator car 2i! supported in the car frame 2|, to which the hoisting cables 22 are secured. The car frame is guided between two guide rails 23 by means of four guides, generally designated 24, mounted at each of the four` corners of the car frame.

The guides 24 are identical in construction,

so only one need be described. Each guide 24,

shown in enlarged detail in Figures 2, 3 and 4, comprisesY a gib housing 25, a stem k2|, and a The gib housing 25 is a U- shaped channel member which ts around the guiding portion of the associated guide rail. It is between the inside surface of the gib housing .and the guide rail that the gibs, generally designated 29, 3|land 3|, are mounted. The gib vhousing is provided with a` trunnion .3.2 which fits into bearing 33 formed in the stem support V21. The trunnion 32 has a hole therein into which is set the stem V25 and secured thereto by means of pin 34. The stem 26 extends through a bearing in an adjustable aligning nut 35 threaded to the stem support. 'Ihe end of the aligning nut nearer the gib housing is provided with a recess 36. Surrounding the stem 26, and seated at one end inthe recess 36 and at the other end against trunnion 32, is a helical compression spring 31. This spring provides a resilient mountving for the gib housing, and, in the event the adjustable aligning nut 35 is appropriately adjusted, the spring may also urge the gib housing toward the cooperating guide rail with a predetermined force. A lock nut 38 is provided to lock the aligning nut in the position to which it is moved. Two grease cups, 40 and 4|', are provided, one for the bearing between the trunnion and the stem support 21, andthe otherfor the bearing betweenthe aligning nut 35 and the stem 26. A cotter pin 42 is provided at the extreme end of the stem to limit the motion of the gib housing and stem in the direction of movement thereof which is unopposed by the spring 31. The trunnion 32 has a collar 43 at the base thereof, which collar engages with the side of the trunnion bearing'for limiting the movement of the gibhousing'in the direction away from the cooperating guide rail. If desired, Washers 44 may be placed around the trunnion between the collar 43 and the side of the trunnionrbearing, to regulate or reduce the amount of Vthis motion. The'stem support 21 is appropriately secured to the oar frame. Y

' housing.

this purpose, each cap may be provided with suit- `able gib retaining lips 46. The gibs, as shown in Figures 2, 3 rand 4, are three independent elements, generally designated 29, 30 and 3|, each cooperating with one of the three guiding surfaces of the associated guide rail. `Gibs 29 and 3|l are designated side gibs in that they cooperate with the side guiding surfaces of the guide rail. Inasmuch as the side gibs are identical in construction, only one need be described in detail. Gib 30, designated the back gib, cooperates with the face of the guide rail. Interposed between each gib and the inside surface of the gibr housing is a leaf spring 41 for maintaining the corresponding gib in engagement with the associated surface of the Yguide rail.

In Figures 5, 6 and 7, there is shown removed from the gib housing a side gib of the type illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4. The side gib comprises a rail-engaging insert 48, made of material considerably harder than the metallic guide rail, secured to a sound-deadening backing by means of anchors 5| cooperating `with counter-sunk holes in the insert. The backing is formed with a plurality of ribs 52, the flat surfaces of which are adapted to bear upon the inside surface of the gib housing When'the leaf spring is compressed. In each of the ribs 52Y beyond the side of the insert, in order to locate definitely the side gibs in the gib housing with respect to the back inside surface of the gib The' ribs at each end of the gib are formed with anl extension -55 for cooperation with the gib retaining'lips 46 of the caps 45.

In Figures 8 and 9, there is shownV removed from the gib housing the back gib illustrated in Figures `2, 3 and 4. `'Ihe back'gib 30 comprises a rail-engaging insert 58, made of material considerably harder than the guide rail, secured to a sound-deadeningibacking by anchor Si, cooperating With counter-sunk holes inthe insert, similarly as with thelside gibs. The back gib 30 is formed with a plurality of ribs 62, the flat surfaces of Vwhich define the back surface of the back gib. In each rib 62 there is formed a channel 63 for accommodating the leaf spring for the back gib.v The depth of this channel in the rib at the center of the back gib is approximately one-half `the thickness of the leaf spring. Th'e depth of this channel in the other ribs increases the farther such ribs are from the center of the back gib, sothat at the ends of the back gib the depth of this channel 63 is approximately the full thickness of the leaf spring. As a matter of 'construction of the back gib illustrated, the base of the longitudinal channel for the back gib leaf spring are portions of an arc having a long radius from a center lying on the perpendicular bisector of the-back gib.v This is diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 8 by means of the radii 64 swung from the common point Y(i5.

of said rail comprisingtherfaceofltherail sternv ing, and in enlarged form is shown, in section,

in Figure 1l. Such roughening may be formed on both the side and back gibs. Rough surface gibs, such as are illustrated, and to a more or less degree as desired, may be employed when it is desired to accelerate the advent of smooth and" polished guide rails.

Figure 12 illustrates a section through a gib housing similar to Figure 4 but showing, in place of the gibs illustrated in Figure 4, a laminated type of gib such as illustrated in Figures 13, 14, l5 and 16. These laminated gibs are similar to the gibs shown in Figures 5, 6, '7, 8 and 9, with the exception that the rail-engaging insert comprises a stack of thin strips 51 held edgewise against the cooperating surface of the guide rail. Such ,a construction is advantageously employed when it is desired to increase the permissible wear with gibs in which the rail-engaging material is an after-hardened material such as nitrided steel. Such material, before hardening, is formed into thin sheets, from which the individual strips are cut or stamped out. The individual strips are then subjected to the nitriding process, which, since the strips are made from thin material,

renders each individual strip hard through its entire thickness. The individual strips may then be assembled in a mold and the backing 68 molded thereto, which process at the same time secures the stack of strips together. The side gib is shown in Figures 13 and 14, and the back gib in Figures 15 and 16.

It has been found that guiding equipment in accordance with the above descriptions operates with a minimum of noise, gives extremely satisfactory guiding action, and requires a minimum of installation and upkeep cost.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are only illustrative thereof, for many changes could be made in the constructions shown and materials employed, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made, without departing from the scope of this invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all that is contained in the above descriptions or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in aV limiting sense.

Vfhat is claimed is:

l. In an elevator installation having a body movable in the hatchway thereof, the combination with a pair of steel guide rails for said movable body disposed along said hatchway on opposite sides of said body, each of said guide rails having a face and two side guiding surfaces, said two guide rails being mounted so that the faces thereof are disposed opposite to each other, of: two gib housings mounted on said body, one for cooperation with each guide rail; a separate gib interposed between each face and each guiding surface of said rails and the gib housing, each of said gibs comprising a thin metallic rail-engaging plate having a hardness over twice that of said steel guide rail, and also comprising a supporting member to which said thin plate is secured; and a leaf spring acting between each gib and the gib housing therefor for maintaining all of said gibs in engagement with said guide rails.

2. In an elevator installation in which there is a body movable in the hatchway and a T guide rail for the movable body, the guiding surfaces and a surface on each side fof such stem;V guiding means lfor the movable body,.comprising a channel member surroundingV the guiding surfaces Yon the rail stem; means for mounting said channel member on the movable body and for providing limited movement to said channel mem-- ber toward and away fromthe'face of the rail` stem; relatively strong springl means acting between saidchannel member and said mounting means therefor for controlling said movement of said channel member; a gib interposed between each guidingsurface of the guide rail and the inside surfaces-oi said channel member, each of said gibs being comparatively light in weight; and relatively weak spring means acting between each of saidgibs and said channel member for maintaining said in engagement with the guiding surfaces of the guide rail.

3. In an elevator installation in which there is a body movable in the hatchway and a T guide rail for the movable body, the guiding surfaces'of said rail comprising the face of the rail stem and a surface on each side of such stem; guiding means for the movable body, comprising; a channelmember surrounding the guiding surfaces on the rail stem; means-for mounting-said` channel member on the movable body and for providingv a limited movement to said channel member toward and away from the face of the rail stem; relatively strong spring means acting between said channel member and said mounting means therefor for controlling-said movement of said channel member; a` back gib interposed between the face of the guide rail stem and the inside surface of said channel member; vand relativelyweak spring means for said vback gib gage'm'ent of said back gib with the face of the guide rail stem, said back gib and back gib spring means being constructed so that, even when said back gib spring means is compressed to the limit, said back gib has a limited movement about a horizontal axis parallel to the face of the guide rail stem so as to be self-aligning therewith.

4. In an elevator installation in which there is a body movable in the hatchway and a T guide rail for the movable body, the guiding surfaces of said rail comprising the face of the rail stem and a surface on each side of such stem; guiding means for the movable body, comprising a channel member surrounding the guiding surfaces on the rail stem; means for pivotally mounting said channel member on said movable body about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the face of the rail stem and for providing a limited movement to said channel member in the direction of such axis; relatively strong spring means acting between said channel member and said mounting means therefor for controlling said movement of said channel member; a side gib interposed between each side guiding surface of the guide rail stem and the inside surface of said channel member, each of said side gibs being comparatively light in weight; relatively weak spring means for said side gibs acting between each of said side gibs and said channel member for maintaining said side gibs in engagement with the side guiding surfaces of the guide rail stem; a back gib interposed between the face of the guide rail stem and the insidev surface of said channel member; and relatively weak spring means for said back gib acting between said back gib and said channel 6 member for insuring the maintenance of engagement of said back gib with the faceV of said guide rail stem, said back gib and back gib spring means being constructed so that, even when said f back gib spring means is compressed to the limit,

saidback gib hasA arlimited'movement about a horizontal axis parallel to the face of the guide rail stem so as to be self-aligning therewith.

5. VIn an elevator installation having a body movable in the hatchway thereof, the combination with a steel T guide rail for said movable body, the guiding surfaces of said rail compris- Y between said channel member and said mounting means therefor for controlling said movement of said channel member, said relatively strong Yspring means being adjusted initially to ,urge

said` channel member against the face of theV guide rail stem with an appreciable force; a gib interposedrbetween each guiding surface of said guide rail stem and the inside surface of said channel member, each of said gibs being'comparatively light in weight, and comprising a metallic rail-engaging member having a rail-engaging surface with a hardness not less than 600 Brinell, and a backing, secured to thexrail-engaging member and constituting a part of the gib, formed of a non-metallic, sound-deadening ma# terial; relatively Weak spring means for the two side gibs acting between each of said tworside gibs and said channel member for maintaining :said two side gibs in engagement With said side guiding surfaces of said guide rail stem; and

means cooperating with the back gib and said channel member for causing the entire rail-engaging surface of said back gib to float on the face of said guide rail stem regardless of lmisalignment of said guide rail.

6. In combination with a body movable in the hatchway of an elevator installation; a steel guide rail in said hatchway for said movable body; a gib housing carried by said body for cooperation with said guide rail; and a removable laminated gib interposed between said gib housing and vsaid guide rail, said gib comprising, a plurality of strips of thin alloy steel stackedupon their broad faces so that the rail-engaging surface of said gib is formed of the edges of said strips, each ofV said plurality of strips having been, priorV to assembly in the stack, subjected to a nitriding process so that each strip, for its entire thickness for an appreciable distance inwardly from the rail-engaging edge thereof, has a hardness of over 600 Brinell.

7. In an elevator installation in which there is a body movable in the hatchway and a metallic guide rail in the hatchway for the movable body;

ka gib housing carried by the body for cooperation 

